Synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from urea and methanol over solid base catalysts

The synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from urea and methanol was found to take place over solid base catalysts. In the first step, the intermediate MC was produced with high yield by urea monomethanolysis and then MC further converted to DMC by reacting with methanol, which was the key step. Solid bases were found to be effective catalysts for the second step and their basic properties were measured by CO2-TPD. The function of basic catalysts could be attributed to the activation of CH3OH via the abstraction of Hδ+ by base sites.